Chapter 10
Rosebel felt satisfied when the Duke clearly drew a line between himself and the Crown Prince.
“You two should tour the orchard, so I’ll head back up now.”
“Oh—Lady, I’m sorry. I was so pleased that the Duke sincerely wished for my happiness that I forgot myself for a moment…”
Archangelos spoke as if he had briefly forgotten Rosebel was even there.
“It’s all right. I’m glad to see that the two of you get along well.”
Even to herself, the words sounded ridiculous, but Rosebel kept repeating in her head, ‘Social life. This is social life!’
“I heard there’s been a drought. You must be worried about the orchard.”
“Yes. This happened so suddenly that I was taken aback. I heard other regions suffered heavy flood damage instead.”
The Duke replied with a troubled expression.
“Oh! Father, that problem is already solved!”
Both men turned their gaze to Rosebel at once. The sudden attention made her uneasy.
“What do you mean, solved?”
“Lady, is that really true? A drought isn’t something that can be fixed overnight.”
She would have preferred to tell only the Duke, but there was no helping it now.
“The waterway wasn’t blocked by stones. Branches that washed down from the mountain and tangled ivy vines were clogging it.”
She felt guilty about lying, but she couldn’t speak honestly in front of the Crown Prince.
“Rosebel… it’s not like I didn’t inspect the blocked waterway…”
“You know how sturdy ivy vines are. Rotten branches get caught between small stones all the time.”
Rosebel shrugged shamelessly.
“I still don’t understand how the Lady managed something even grown men couldn’t handle.”
Gritting her teeth, Rosebel continued.
“I used a sickle to cut the ivy carefully, and for the piled-up stones, I used leverage to collapse them.”
Luckily, Rosebel was good at improvising.
“With a woman’s strength?”
“Isn’t that exactly why I used leverage instead of brute force?”
She argued with all her might so the Crown Prince wouldn’t raise further doubts.
The result, however, wasn’t very good.
The three of them ended up walking together toward the orchard.
Archangelos’s gaze, fixed on Rosebel walking ahead, was different from before. He watched her closely, trying to uncover what had changed about her. There was no way Rosebel wouldn’t notice that persistent, uncomfortable stare.
But soon, the sound of clear water trickling calmed her irritated mood.
“The Lady was right.”
“I cleaned out the rotten branches and ivy right away.”
“What?”
Archangelos looked at her in disbelief.
Rosebel turned her gaze to the Duke. Seeing his unusual expression, she clenched her teeth.
“Father?”
Sensing something odd in her voice, the Duke quickly responded.
“Hm? Ah, then we won’t need to worry about this year’s harvest. But still—why did you handle it alone? You could’ve called people to help.”
“I’m sturdier than I look! If I’m to become the heir of the family, I should be able to handle difficult tasks too.”
At her words, Archangelos subtly looked away. Though he seemed to be gazing at the lush mountain, his eyes were focused on a specific point.
“Even so, don’t overdo it on your own.”
“I’ll remember that! Oh, and when summer comes, we could cool fruits in the stream!”
The Duke smiled.
“That sounds good. But really… you planted quite a lot.”
He was surprised by how serious the farming had become in what he thought was just a small garden.
He hadn’t completely ignored it, but the scale was larger than expected.
“It felt like a waste to leave the land unused. And later, wouldn’t it be nice to make simple food from this and sell it during festivals?”
Rosebel smiled and subtly avoided his gaze.
Archangelos found her changes more interesting than he had expected.
“It’s fortunate that the drought seems resolved. This year’s apple harvest should be fine.”
“Indeed. Please visit again when the apple blossoms bloom.”
Though she knew it was just polite talk, inside Rosebel was screaming, Don’t come! Absolutely don’t come!
The two men followed Rosebel further, until they reached a small waterfall.
Mountain birds and small animals scattered as soon as the three appeared.
“The atmosphere here is clearly different from before.”
“Water is both the beginning and the end of life.”
At the Duke’s words, Archangelos nodded in agreement.
Rosebel was slightly surprised by how normal his response was.
Still, she had no desire to get involved with him.
Just then—
“Duke? Rosebel?”
Aren suddenly appeared from somewhere. He was startled to meet them in such an unexpected place, and his guard immediately went up when he saw a man he didn’t recognize.
“Rosebel?”
Archangelos already knew who the man casually calling her name was.
It was one of the results of Rosebel’s busy efforts after she woke up.
“He’s a child Rosebel brought in. She hired him, and he’s helping my daughter now.”
“I see. But… I believe it’s improper for a commoner to casually call a noble by name. Am I mistaken?”
At his sharp words, both of them froze.
Rosebel hadn’t planned to formally introduce Aren since he wasn’t a noble.
“Aren, come here and show proper manners.”
She called to him. To Archangelos, the greeting of a commoner of unknown background wasn’t important.
What bothered him was how freely the man used Rosebel’s name.
“Lady, there’s no need for that. I simply pointed out that your employee seems unaware of proper etiquette.”
“Ah… I told him to call me that. I allowed it, so it’s fine. Thank you for your concern.”
Rosebel drew a firm line. Honestly, she wanted to say, Who do you think you are?
Archangelos found the situation—where he was clearly excluded—strangely unpleasant. Though there was more of the orchard to see, irritation rose within him, and he turned away.
“The drought is resolved, and we’ve toured the orchard, so I suppose our business here is finished. I’ll be taking my leave. Ah, I hope you’ll invite me once the vegetables you planted have grown.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
The Duke smiled, but Rosebel disliked how openly the Crown Prince asked for an invitation.
Even while clearly drawing a boundary, he still deliberately used the word invite, which annoyed her.
Still, she forced the corners of her lips upward.
“Thank you for visiting the duchy today. Please forgive my inappropriate attire. Next time, I’ll greet you properly.”
“Not at all. Rather… it was nice to see a new side of you.”
Though Archangelos spoke gently, his gaze was fixed on Aren.
Aren found that sharp stare directed at him deeply unpleasant.
“How ridiculous.”
Muttering to himself, Aren fiddled with the end of the bonnet string Rosebel had tied for him.
A Korean office worker can curse furiously inside while keeping a face that says, ‘I’m a harmless person.’
Why do you keep staring? Just leave already. My face is going to cramp from smiling.
Grumbling inwardly, Rosebel turned her gaze to Aren. He had his head lowered, absently playing with his hat string, and it bothered her.
Of course he’s upset. But seriously—why did he pop out there of all places?!
She’d assumed he’d be resting in his room. More than that, she wished the Crown Prince would leave as soon as possible.
* * *
“Be honest with me. You really think I wouldn’t know your secret?”
That was the first thing Rosebel said after Archangelos left. Her tone made it clear she was certain.
“There was no point lying. I was stupid to think I wouldn’t get caught.”
Aren already knew Rosebel wasn’t ordinary. Still, he hadn’t spoken up, fearing he might be abandoned again.
“What are you muttering about? Aren’t you thinking too much while meditating?”
“Thinking too much?!”
Since beginning full-scale training to control mana, Aren often seemed lost in thought.
Someone who already looked troubled now seemed even worse.
“You knew from the start, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“That I can control spirits.”
“I thought you might have some special ability. I never imagined it was spirits.”
Aren frowned irritably.
“Well… I didn’t know either. Anyway, now it’s a secret just between us! So you should treat me w—huh? What’s that smell?”
“What smell?”
As they argued, the scent of something burning hit them, and their faces went pale.
They didn’t know where or how it started, but the gray smoke covering the sky wasn’t something they could laugh off.
“Th-that way… where is that?”
“Idiot! Get a grip! It’s the mountain behind the orchard!”
“What?! Why is there suddenly a forest fire?!”
Panicking, their feet were already running toward the orchard.
Their breath came up to their throats, lungs burning.
“Father!”
“Rosebel! Aren!”
The Duke stared at the rising smoke, clearly shaken.
“What’s happening?”
“With this long drought, it seems a forest fire has broken out. This has only happened once before…”
Rosebel barely heard him.
They had to put out the fire—now. If this continued, the orchard and even the duchy would burn down.
“Aren!”
“Yeah!”
“Let’s go!”
As the two rushed into the mountain without a plan, the Duke was left stunned, and the servants screamed in panic.
